 Hello, you're watching the International Daily Roundup by People's Dispatch, where we bring you some of the top stories from around the world. Let's take a look at today's headlines. France to withdraw troops from Mali. Dutch Prime Minister apologizes for colonial violence in Indonesia. Ecuador passes rule for abortion in cases of rape. And Israel refuses cooperation with United Nations human rights probe. In our first story, France and its allies are set to withdraw their troops from Mali after almost a decade. This applies to the Burkhani force in the Sahel region and the Takuba European force. The decision was announced in a statement by France and its African and European allies on February 17. It said, quote, the political, operational and legal conditions were no longer effectively met, an end quote, to continue current military engagement. This is in reference to the recent military coup led by Colonel Assimi Goyta. French President Emmanuel Macron has stated that bases in Gossi, Minaka, and Gao will be closed within the next four to six months. The country shut down its Qidal and Thessalith military base in northern Mali last year. In December, it announced a withdrawal of troops from Timbaktu. It was from here that France launched its military intervention in 2013 in what came to be known as Operation Burkhani. Mali's government remained an ally in the mission whose stated purpose was to fight extremist forces, including the Islamic State. The operation's failure to address the conflict and France's own military abuses led to growing unrest in Mali. Mass protests erupted against continued resource exploitation by the former colonial power. 2,400 French troops remain in Mali under Operation Burkhani and the Takuba Force. Macron has suggested that forces might now be concentrated in the neighboring Niger. Meanwhile, Mali has been hit with sweeping sanctions imposed by the regional bloc, Ecovas. The action prompted mass protests in the country last month with people also raising slogans against France. In our next story, an inquiry has revealed the systematic use of violence by the Dutch army during the Indonesian War of Independence. Mass detentions, extra-judicial killings, burning of villages, and torture were sanctioned by the highest levels of government. These findings are the result of an over four-year study funded by the Netherlands. It negates Dutch claims that the violence between 1945 and 1949 had been of isolated exorcists. Prime Minister Mark Root apologized to Indonesia during a press conference on February 17. Indonesia had declared independence in 1945 after Japanese occupying powers were defeated. In order to maintain colonial control over the country, the Dutch deployed troops to suppress the uprising. Up to 150,000 Indonesians were directly and indirectly killed over the next four years. The study says that the war was supported by an approving society and an uncritical media rooted in a colonial mentality. The violence was widespread and deliberate and was aided, concealed, and left practically unpunished. Dutch courts have previously ordered the state to compensate the families of Indonesian fighters killed by colonial troops. The statute of limitations also does not apply to the War of Independence. This was issued after the country repeatedly tried to invoke the statute to quash lawsuits filed by Indonesian survivors. We now go to Ecuador, where the National Assembly has approved a measure to allow access to abortions in cases of rape. The regulation was passed on February 17 with 75 votes in favor, 41 against, and 14 abstentions. This follows a 2021 ruling by the Constitutional Court which decriminalized such abortions. Adults in urban areas will now be able to access the procedure for up to 12 weeks of pregnancy. The limit for girls, indigenous women, and women in rural areas has been set at 18 weeks. The measure will now have to be approved by conservative President Guillermo Lasso. The original proposal had pushed to decriminalize abortions up to 28 weeks. However, opposition from the president and legislators ultimately reduced the limit. Feminist groups have argued that the timeframe is too restrictive and will force many to either give birth or seek illegal abortions. The new measures do not require people to inform the police, but do require an informed consent form. While the health care system must provide abortions, individual doctors can raise consentious objections. Transando Feminismos has estimated that 21,000 abortions are performed in Ecuador each year, mostly in illegal clinics. Native abortions also accounted for 6% of maternal deaths in 2020 as per official data. People from poor, indigenous, and Afro-descendant communities have been the worst affected by the criminalization of the procedure. And finally, Israel has declared that it will not cooperate with the United Nations-led inquiry into rights violation against Palestinians. 125 countries in the Human Rights Council voted to establish a permanent commission of inquiry in 2021. The three-member body is led by South African judge Navi Pillay. Israeli diplomat Mirav Elon Shahar formally submitted a letter to Pillay on February 17. The letter accuses the judge of bias after Pillay compared Israel's systematic discrimination against Palestinians to apartheid South Africa. The letter also cited Pillay's support of the boycott divestment and sanctions movement. Israel has also refused to cooperate with the International Criminal Courts inquiry into war crimes in the occupied Palestinian territories. The United Nations Commission was constituted in May 2021 after Israel's 11-day long bombing of besieged Gaza. Over 250 Palestinians were killed, thousands were injured, and critical infrastructure was destroyed. The inquiry will look into all human rights abuses leading up to and starting April 13, 2021. This includes violations across both the occupied territories and Israel. The panel has been tasked with looking into root causes of recurrent tensions in stability and protraction of conflict. This includes systemic identity-based discrimination and repression. The Commission will also examine the actions of Palestinian groups, including Hamas. And that's all for today's episode. For more such stories, visit our website at www.peoplesdispatch.org and follow us on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram. Thank you for watching.